Machine for attaching buttons



5 sheets-sheet 1.

(No Modei.)

A. MENGLISH.- MACHINE FOR ATTAGHING BTTONS.

/NVENTOR' a@ LL eww By- Attorney N. PETERS, Pholulhomphnr, wuhinglem D.C.

(N01 M0del.) 5 SheetS-Sheet 2.

A. M. ENGLISH.

MACHINE 'FOR ATTAGHING BUTTONS.

No. 358,342.' Patented Feb. 22, 1887.

N. PETERS mmmnngnphef, wnmngm, im;

(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 3.

A. M. ENGLISH.

MACHINE FOR ATTAGHING BUTTONS. N0. 358,342. Patented Feb. 22, 1887.

Fi E 4 INVENTO@ By Attorney 920.?. [s M (No Model.)

. 5 Sheets-Shet 4. A. M. ENGLISH.

MACHINE FOR ATTAHING BUTTONS.

No. 358,342. Patented Feb. 22, 1887*.

Byf; Attorney I 5 Sheets-Sheet 5.

l (Nomoael.)

' A. M. ENGLISH.

MACHINE ATTAHING BUTTONS.

Patented Feb. 22, 1887.

"Unirse Srarns' Parent Ormes.

ANALDO M. ENGLISH, OF BOSTON,- MASSAOHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE PRATTMANUFAOTURINGOOMPANY, OF PORTLAND, MAINE.

MACHINE FOR ATTACHlNG BUTTONS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 358,342, dated February22, 18487. Application tiled( March 29, 1886. Serial No. 196,963. (Nomodel.)

T0 all zii/'tom t may concern:

Be it known that I, ANALDO M. ENGLisn, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city of Boston, county of Suffolk, Commonwealth ofMassachusetts, have invented a new and usefulvMachine for AttachingButtons to Leather, Woolen Cloth, or other Fabrics, of which thefollowing is a true and complete specification.

My invention relates to the foot-power machine hereinafterdescribed,wherein I use. oneprong metallic button fasteners, which areautomatically fed to the machine as they are required, while the buttonsare fed by hand.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side view of the head ofthemachine, showing the general arrangement of the drum, plunger, andoscillating lever, and the manner in which the power is applied. Fig. 2is a section of the support, showing the arrangement of the footpowerand connectingrod. Fig. 3 is a front view of the drum land itsappendages, showing the arrangement of the inclined table, bridge, ways,and gate, whereby the fasteners are fed one by one to the machine. Fig.4 is a side section ofthe same. Fig. 5 is a side view'and partialsection showing the mechanism connected with the gate and ram. Fig. 6 isa perspective view of the gate. Fig. 7 is a plan view and part sectionshowing more clearly the arrangement ofthe ways and ram, also theguide-bars by which the fastener is guided to the jaws of the machineand the mechanism by which it is turned into proper position before itis carried by the ram to the jaws of the machine. Fig. 8 is aperspective view showing the device for turni/ng the fast enerintoproper position in its normal posi-l tion before turning the fastener.Fig.9 is a view of the same just after turning the fastener. Fig. 10 isa front section showing more clearly the arrangement of the guide-bars.

' Fig. 11 is a front view of thejaws and plunger,

showing the fastener in position in the jaws. Fig. 12 shows the fastenerused. Fig. 13 is a side view of the device for turning the fastener.

The machine stands upon the three-legged base A, Fig. 2, the upper partof which consists of a slotted barrel, a, -into the top of 'which isscrewed the tube B. (A piece of one be raised or lowered by looseningthe screwf.

The working parts ofthe machine are protected by an adj nstable jacket,G. which may be rotated back, when desirable, on the pivot g, thusexposing the machinery for oiling,

cleaning, &c. Thisjacket carries the hopper g', by which the fastenersare introduced into the drum.

Power is communicated to the machine by the treadle H. Fig. 2, whichconsists of a bent lever moving on a pivot, h. It is provided with afoot-piece, 7L', pivoted to its front end, which has a spring, h2, whichserves to hold it in ahorizontal position. To the other end of the bentlever H is pivoted the link h3, having at its outer end, h4, achisel-edge, which engages with a corresponding notch in theconnecting-rod b, Fig. 2. The link h3 is provided at its joint with thelever H with a spiing. h5, which tends to elevate its-end it,

and so cause it to continually engage with the 80 notch in theconnectiugrod b. The parts thus arranged form a toggle or elbow joint,by which, power being applied to the foot-piece h', great force isbrought to bear to depress the connecting-rod b.

Theupper end of the connecting-rod bis provided with a rack, b', whichengages with a pinion, d, revolving on a pin, d, supported by the frameD. The pinion Z is provided with an eccentricpin, d2, which slides in aslot 9o in the oscillating lever J, which oscillates on a piu, j,supported bythe frame D. The 1ever J is split at its other end, so as toembrace the sleeve c, and is provided with slots j', which engage withthe pin jg, attached to the plunger j, whereby, the lever J beingoscillated around the pin j, the plungerj3 is caused to rise and fall.The plunger j is fully described in the patent of Pratt and English,

No. 287,389, of October 23, 1883. The pinion roo ifo LZ engages with arack, c, which slides on a guide, c', attached to the bed C, Figs. l and2. To the front end of the rack c is attached the ram c2, Figs. l, 5, 7,and 11, whereby, the pinion D being rotated, the ram c2 is caused tomove forward and backward.

The drum Kis supported by the pin j, upon which it is free to turn,being held in place by the retaining-pin j", Fig. et. and is providedwith ribs k, Figs. 3 and 4, and a series of teeth, k', by which it isturned a certain distance by the pawl k'l at each stroke of the machine.

Immediately in front of the drum is placed a frame, L, which supportsthe inclined table Zand bridge Z. Both the inclined table and bridgeproject into the interior of the drum, as shown in the section, Fig. 4,whereby, the drum being revolved, as indicated by the arrow, Fig. 3, thefasteners in it will be raised up by the ribs k and drop on the inclinedtable Z. The inclined table Z and bridge Z are provided with a guard,Z2, placed at such a height above the table and bridge that a fastenerstanding on its head, as shown in Fig. 12, cannot fall off, while onelyingin any other position may, Fig. 3. To the guard ZL is attached anarm, Z,whose outer end rests against the spring Z, the end of whichengages with the teeth k of the drum, whereby, the drum being turned bythe pawl k2, the spring Z4 receives a vibratory motion by the passage ofthe teeth 7.2. This is communicated to the table Z by the arm Z3 and theguard Z, and causes the fasteners deposited on the machine table to rundown onto the bridge, and so t0 the machine. From the bridge thefastener runs into the ways, which conduct it to the bed of the machine.

The construction of the ways may be best seen by referring to Fig. 7,where a fastener is shown in the act of descending. It will be noticedthat the casting has a slot, a, plowed into it, which receives the headof the fastener, while the shank projects between the guide-plates Z5and ZF. A fastener, being dropped upon the inclined table Z, descendstoward the bridge Z in consequence of the shaking motion alreadydescribed, arriving at which point, if it is not standing on its head,as is shown in Fig. l2, it will probably fall off, as thebridge issomewhat narrower than the head of the fastener. If it is standing onits head, its shanks, projecting upward, will be caught by the guard Z2,which will prevent its falling off, and so it will pass onto the ways.If by any chance a fastener not standing on its head should pass thebridge and arrive at the ways, it would fall through the aperture, ZT,left for that purpose. A fastener arriving at the ways standing on itshead will be guided by the upper end of the plate Z, and so descend inthe proper position, as shown at x', Fig. 3, where the plates have beenbroken away to show the construction, until stopped by the gate, whichis so arranged as to let but one fastener through at each st-roke of themachine.

k3 la are guards in front of the. drum, which catch all fastenersdropping from the inclined table and bridge and return them into thedrum.

k2 is provided with a lip, linto which fits the neck of the hopper g'.

The gate M consists of an L-shapcd bar,M, which slides on the bed of themachine C. (See Figs. 3, 4, 5, and 6.) This terminates at one end in thespoon m", which occupies a recess at the bottom of the ways, and servesto shove the fastener' at each stroke of the machine entirely out of theways and in front of the ram, which in turn forces it into place in thejaws of the machine. (See Fig. 4.) To the back end of the spoon m" isriveted the lower arm of the gate, on, which is provided with the pointm, and to these is attached the curved upper arm, m, having the pointm3. The construction is best seen in Fig. 6. This gate is so arrangedthat at each stroke of the machine the points m and m" play across theslot x in the ways forward and backward.

As the fastener descends it is stopped by the point m3. At the nextstroke of the'pluuger c2 and rack c the gate moves forward by amechanism to be hereinafter described, and one fastener drops ontothepointm,and when the gate moves back to its first position thatfastener drops through, while the next one is still held back by thepoint m, the dist-ance between the points on and m being just sufficientto permit one fastener to pass at a time. In Fig. 3 the gate is shown bydotted lines in its forward position. The gate is held in place by theretaining-piece mf To the bed-piece c is attached the cam ma, having aprojection, ml. To the lower part of the cam on is pivoted the link m",the other end of which is attached to the pin mh of the gate M. To theupper end of the cam mB is pivoted the slide mw, the other end ofwhichis supported by the projection m5 of the gate M and the Spring m, Fig.7.

To the rack c is attached the pin c, which as the rack moves backstrikes against the projection m* of the cam mi, and so revolves the camaround the pin m, thus forcing the gate M forward by means of the linkin, and as the rack moves forward on the return-stroke the said pinstrikes against the projection m"5 of the slide ml, and so revolving thecam back brings thegate to its first position.

It will be noticed that the movement ofthe gate is much more rapid thanthat of the rack C.

After passing through the gate the fastener is struck by the spoon m4,and, so guided by the guide-bars Z5 and Z", is pushed out onto the bedof the machine, where it is held between the guidebars a n, as shown inFig. 10.

It is necessary that the fastener should be so placed in thejaws of themachine that vits shank curves backward. To accomplish this thefastener-turning device I is introduced, Figs. 7, 8, and 9. Thisconsists of a frame, p, having a slot, p', in which is pivotcd thecamshaped piece p2, having a concaved surface, p3,

IIO

and a iiat surface, p, against which rests a spring, p5. The fastenerbeing pushed forward by the concave end of the ram, its upper endcomesin contact with the concave-curved surface of the piece p2, whichrevolves around A the pivot p6.

If the fastener is in the position shown in Fig. 13, it will stay inthat position. If it is not, it will revolve until it is in thatposition, by awell-known principle which needs no eX- planation. rlhefastener, now being turned into the proper position, is forced by thecontinued stroke of the ram c2 into its place in the jaws of themachine.

In Fig. 11, at n', is shown the jaws which hold the fastener' while itis turned over and clinched by the mechanism of the plunger. They eachof them consist of ablock of metal, n', so formed that the fastener maybe securely held between them. To each of them is attached one end ofthe flat spring a2, the other end of which is secured to the bed of thema chine by the screw a3. ,The springs n2 n force the jaws toward eachother upon the fastener held between them, and so hold the fastenerfirmly while it is turned over and clinched by the proper mechanism.

The fasteners are fully shown in Figs. l0, ll, 12, and 13, Figs. 10 and11 showing a front view, and Figs. 12 and 13 showing a side view, ofthefastener.`

The fastener being introduced into the drum K by the hopper g and thetreadle H being successively depressed by the foot and allowed to rise,the drum revolves and a portion of the fasteners are lifted by the ribsk and fall upon the inclined table Z, and travel down it on account ofits vibratory motion, as described; thence they move down the bridge Zand into the ways. During the passage over the inclined table and bridgeall of the fasteners which are not standing on their 'heads fall backinto the drum, and only those descend into the ways which are in properposition, as shown at Fig. 3. The fastener descends in the ways, asdescribed, until it reaches the gate M, which allows one fastener topass through it at each back-stroke of the machine, as described. Havingpassed through the gate, the fastener is struck by the spoon at the nextforward stroke of themachine and forced out of the ways onto the bed ofthe machine,where it is held, as previously described, until the plungerforces it into place between the jaws of the machine, which hold itfirmly while being clinched around the eye'of the button by the plungerj3, as described in United States Patent to Pratt and En glish,No. 287,389, before mentioned.

Having now fully described my invention, what I desire to claim andsecure by Letters f Patent, is-

1. In a machine for attaching buttons, the combination, substantially asdescribed, of a bent lever rocking on a pivot attached to the frame ofsaid machine, having a foot-piece at one end and a link pivoted at theother end,

a connecting-rod having a rack at -its upper end and a notch engagingwith said link at its other end, a ratchet-wheel engaging with said rackand having an eccentric pin, a rocking lever having a slot at one endwhich engages with the said eccentric pin. on said ratchetwheel, and aplunger sliding in a sleeve and actuated by said rocking lever, whereby,said foot-piece being depressed and raised, said plunger is caused tofall and rise, substantially as shown and described.

Y 2. In a machine for attaching buttons, the combination, substantiallyas described, of a bent lever rocking on a pivot attached to the frameof said machine, having at one end a foot-piece and at the other end apivoted link,

a connectingrod having at its upper end a vertical rack and at its otherend a notch eugaging with said link, `a ratchet-wheel engaging with saidvertical rack, a nearly horizontal rack engaging with said ratchet-wheeland having at its forward end a fastener-positioning ram, whereby, saidfoot-piece being depressed and raised, said fastener-positioning ram ismade to move backward and forward substantially as described.

3. In a machine for attaching buttons, the combination, substantially asdescribed, of a sliding gate, a reciprocating pin, a revolving campivoted to the frame of said machine and having a projection whichengages with said reciprocating pin, a link one end of which is attachedto the said cam below its center of revolution and whose other end isattached to said sliding gate, and a slide having a projection whichengages with said reciprocating pin, one end of said slide being pivotedto said cam above its center of revolution, whereby said reciprocatingpin, moving backward, strikes said projection on said cam, and sorevolves said cam and causes said sliding gate to move forward, and saidreciprocating pin, moving forward, strikes said projection on saidslide, and so reverses said cam and causes said sliding gate to moveback into its tirst position, substantially as described.

4. In a machine for attaching buttons, the combination, substantiallyas'described, of a reciprocating fastener-1 iositioning ram having aconcave fastener-holding surface at its working end, a pair of fastenerguide-bars, and a pair of spring fastener-holding jaws, whereby, saidram being moved forward, the said button-fastener is forced intoposition between said fastener-holding jaws, substantially as described.

5. In a machine for attaching buttons, the combination, substantially asdescribed, of a reciprocating fastener-positioning ram, a pair offastener guide-bars, and a revolving fastener-turning spring-cam havinga concaved fastener-turning surface placed eccentrically to its axis,whereby the fastener, being forced forward by the said rains engagingwith the middle of its shank, its upper end striking against the saidconcaved surface of said fastener-turning cam, causes said cam torevolve 1i 352mm aronnd its axis and itself is revolved until theconvexity of its tang is directly forward in position for work,substantially as described.

6. In a machine for attaching buttons, the combination, substantially asdescribed, of a revolving fastener-holding drum having internali'astenenlifting ribs integral therewith, an inclined vibratingiastenerliolding table projecting into the interior ofsaid drum2 havinga narrow bridge at its lower end and a,V

S. A machine for attaching buttons, consisting of a fastener-feedingdevice consisting of a revolving drum provided with internal fast- 25ener-lifting ribs, an inclined vibrating table, fastener-conductingways, and a reciprocating fastener-feeding gate, a fastenciepositioningram, a revolVing-llistenerturning cam, and a bnttonlioldingfastenerclinching plunger, all 3o arranged and operating substantiallyas dcscribcd. n

ln a machine for attaching buttons, the combination of a reciprocatinggate, M, having two fastener-retaining points, m and m, 35 and a spoon,m4, with a fastener-condnoting way, all arranged and operating as andfor the purpose substantially as described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

ANALDO M. ENGLISH. W'itnesses:

WM. B. H. Dowsn, Clins. L. FrroH.

